Campaigns and Consequences of EU Referendums

Abstract

Until the 1990s, processes of European integration and enlargement were largely elite-driven. Citizens did not show much interest in the direction in which ‘Europe’ was heading, nor did this meet with much opposition. The campaigns were generally lacklustre, as issues connected to the European Union (earlier the European Community) and European integration were scarcely politicised and, in fact, hardly discussed by parties, politicians or the media. This period of permissive consensus seems to be over. During the last decade the European project has been increasingly opposed by citizens who obstructed the Treaty of Nice, the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty in referendums in the Netherlands, France and Ireland - three decidedly ‘Europhile’ countries. As a result, we expect campaigns for European Parliament elections and for referendums to become much more polarised between parties supporting and opposing further European integration. This panel focuses on the changing nature of such campaigns, and on the effect of these campaign on attitudes towards European integration or on electoral behaviour. It welcomes papers that focus specifically on change over time, or papers that take a cross national comparative perspective. Contributions to this panel could focus on the role of the media, but also on campaign strategies of parties.

Title	Details
The Puzzle of Double European Union Referendums	View Paper Details
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